“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him,and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator,Booker Washington. He was saying that,“If you want people to grow up,you have to stop treating them like children.”
In America,families are close but children are encouraged to be independent,to make their own decisions,even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance (津贴) every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose,for example,buying clothes,school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards!That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit cards(信用卡).
From an early age,American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decisionmaking. At the dinner table,teenagers will be listened to on any topic,from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way,teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals:they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress,the music they listen to and the friends they choose.“Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice,young Chinese girl”.With her short,spiky hair and boylike clothes,she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet...and she won!
There is an old saying,“Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his stre
ngth.” If you do this,step by step,over a period of time,you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.
The passage is intended to encourage the youth to________.
A.save money for useful things | B.become independent |
C.express their great ambitions | D.make important decisions |
A child of seven is given an allowance so that he can______.
A.be accepted as a popular guy | B.learn to decide how to use money |
C.overspend money without care | D.have school supplies of his own |
The author implies that many Chinese children________.
A.are more independent than Americans |
B.should become interested in America |
C.are happy with their present situation |
D.are not satisfied to be nice,quiet ones |
The main idea of the last paragraph is________.
A.that we should do things step by step |
B.why we should understand our desires |
C.what we should plan for our own life |
D.how we can manage to realize our dreams |
What’s your opinion about finding good friends? Speaking from my past experience, it is very difficult to find good friends that you can trust but once you have found them, they are worth keeping forever! Therefore, I think friendship is the most important relationship that anybody could have.
The qualities I look for in a friend are a good sense of humor and sensitivity. A friend would have to be strong-minded and highly spirited. I think that these qualities are the key qualities to look for in a good friend.
Even the best friends can still have arguments between themselves, though usually about more serious topics, rather than the usual childish arguments. Some matters can seriously affect friendship. If one of your friends started experimenting with harmful and dangerous drugs, what would you do? A good friend would try to help as much as possible, while a bad example of a friend would simply shrug and turn a blind eye.
Not only the bad things affect friendship ---good activities do too, such as bonding with one another, not just by going out on a night with them, but by spending quality time with them and talking to each other. This is a key aspect of a good friendship.
Good friends do not always have to be in the same age group as you. I have a good friend and she is 47 years old and I am 16.
Unfortunately, some people lose contact with their friends as they grow older, which is a sad way to lose a good friend.
I think friendship is one of the most important things in life because if you have no friends you will have no happiness.According to the author, true friendship _____.
A.is easy to get | B.needs management |
C.deepens with time | D.affects one’s happiness |
Paragraph 3 is mainly about _____.
A.why drugs are bad for teenagers |
B.whether a friend is reliable |
C.ways that help avoid arguments |
D.problems that will test friendship |
According to the author, which matters least in friendship?
A.Confidence | B.Age |
C.Sense of humor. | D.Communication. |
Which of the following sayings can match the author's view on friendship?
A.Old friends and old wines are best. |
B.A friend without faults will never be found. |
C.A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody. |
D.A life without a friend is a life without a sun. |
It was a cloudy day on November 11, 2015. We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. While I watched, mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop (拖把). She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.”
“Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book.
After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining. She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum nodded politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”
Outside, Mum told me, “Dagma is fine. No fever. ”
“You see her, Mum?”
“Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It’s a fine hospital. But the floors! A mop is no good. You need a brush. ”When the nurse talked to Mum, she thought Mum was a ________.
A.nurse | B.cleaner | C.patient | D.visitor |
What can we infer about the hospital?
A.It was a children’s hospital. |
B.The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard. |
C.It has strict rules about visiting hours. |
D.A lot of patients come to this hospital every day. |
Mum went to see Dagma in the hospital to _____.
A.give her some messages about Dad |
B.make sure her room was clean |
C.check that she was still there |
D.find out how she was |
Which of the following words can best describe Mum?
A.Hard –working | B.Clever |
C.Warmly –hearted | D.Strange |
Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers conclude that the French tend (易于) to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed (挤出) between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity - or extreme overweight - among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject (拒绝) older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% - and is growing.In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?
A.They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently. |
B.They regard eating as a key part of their life style. |
C.They squeeze eating between the other daily activities. |
D.They usually eat too much canned and frozen food. |
This text is mainly about the relationship between ______.
A.children and adults | B.Americans and the French |
C.life style and obesity | D.fast food and overweight |
Where does this text probably come from?
A.A health report | B.A book review |
C.A TV interview | D.A food advertisement |
What benefits can you have from a film? A well-made film offers a whole world of things to watch. First there are the story aspects — the plot,characters, dialogue and themes. Then there are the technical aspects — the camera work, cuttings and special effects. And there are many other things, like the credits, musical score and the acting. Awell-made film offers much more than you see in one viewing (观看).
Films are a means of communication. They can tell you things, just as newspapers do, or television,or any other means of communication. Sometimes they communicate important things to you, like ideasor lifestyles or ways of looking at the world. Sometimes people are aware of this, and sometimes not.The more you are aware of this, the better you are.
Notice, for example, the way films sometimes affect fashion. A star dresses or wears her hair in a certain way, and suddenly everyone is imitating (模仿) her. Boys in the 1950s could sometimes be seen wearingblack leather jackets, idling (闲逛) on street corners and smoking cigarettes. They were imitating Marion Brando. His films taught them a certain way to behave.
Films can also teach politics. In Star Wars, the heroes were a bunch of lovable incompetents (无能者) fighting with guts (胆量) and not much else. They were, in fact, rather like the British in the early days of WW II. Their enemies, like the Nazis, had a big advantage in equipment and numbers of troops, and they were like the Nazis in discipline and heartlessness too. The whole film, in fact, was a re-run (重演) of WW II, and taught values like faith and love of liberty. This is all to the good, but the point is, did you notice it?All of the following are mentioned as noticeable aspects of a film EXCEPT________.
A.the list of names of actors and directors,etc. |
B.the cost of a film |
C.the music for a film |
D.the language used in a film |
The last sentence in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
A.a high quality film can be appreciated repeatedly from different angles |
B.a good film always attracts a lot of viewers |
C.a well made film usually has more than one theme |
D.one can never find out how many characters there are in a good film |
It can be inferred from the passage that in his film,Marion Brando was ________.
A.a motorist who always wore a black leather jacket |
B.a homeless man who died of excessive smoking |
C.a rebellious man during WWⅡ |
D.an idler who didn't have any serious things to do |
Star Wars is a film________.
A.about WWⅡ | B.for politics |
C.reflecting WWⅡ | D.for peace lovers |
Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It is the second largest city in Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country.
The Centre Block is the main building on Parliament Hill (国会山). It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honor and the Memorial Chamber. The present Centre Block is the second iteration of the building, after the first was destroyed by fire in 1916, and it is one of the most recognizable buildings in Canada.
Downtown Ottawa is the commercial and economic centre of the city. Most of the buildings are office towers. While most of Ottawa’s high tech industry is based elsewhere, it has a significant presence in the downtown core (中心部分). The downtown also contains a number of apartments, hotels, and the older single family homes and townhouses along its edges.
The National Gallery of Canada is one of Canada’s premier (首位的) art galleries. The Gallery has a large and varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs. Although its focus is on Canadian art, it also holds works by some noted American and European artists.
The Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America. At the very beginning, the purpose of the Rideau Canal was military, as it was intended to provide a secure supply and communication route between Montreal and the British naval (海军的) base in Kingston. It remains in use today primarily for pleasure boating, with most of its original structures still exsiting. The locks on the system open for navigation (通航) in mid-May and close in mid-October.What does underlined word “iteration” probably mean in the 2nd paragraph?
A.copy | B.repair | C.design | D.picture |
If you pay a visit to the core of Downtown Ottawa, you can see ______.
A.a large number of tall towers |
B.a lot of apartments and hotels |
C.the older single family homes and townhouses |
D.head offices of Ottawa’s high tech industry |
The main collections in the National Gallery of Canada are ______.
A.paintings and drawings |
B.works of art by Canadian artists |
C.sculpture and photographs |
D.works by American and European artists |
What can we know about the Rideau Canal from the passage?
A.The original structures remain unchanged. |
B.People can only go boating from May to October. |
C.It was originally for the military purpose. |
D.It is the oldest canal system in North America. |